Central BBQ - Summer — Restaurant in Memphis

I eat at Central BBQ a few times a year. I like the food and the service is usually decent but every once in awhile they really fail to drive home the customer experience. Tonight was one of those nights. My family met at 6:30 for dinner. My father who is visually impaired, my aunt who is on oxygen, my mother, and my cousin arrived early and were not allowed to be seated until the party was complete. I've worked in the service industry, I get it. When I arrived a few minutes later, our host/greeter walked us to the back room of the restaurant then pointed toward the furthest table and told us we could sit there. The restaurant was busy but certainly not full and remember the visually impaired and oxygen? It was a huge pain in the ass to get everyone safely seated. The table could not have been further from the door and the other tables and chairs were packed so closely together in the room, it was.difficult to traverse the path to our table. My fiance and I returned to the front to order and get drinks (we were charged for 5 drinks when we only ordered 4 drinks and two waters and one sandwich didn't make it on the original ticket so we had to make a second transaction). There's only one fountain machine for the entire restaurant and if you want to order food and a beer, you've gotta hit the front register and the bar (so we were told). Back at the table, our food arrived without silverware, I didn't realize that we were supposed to grab our own, so we made another trip to the front. Drinks empty? We made another trip to the drink line at the front. Need wet wipes? Another trip to the front. Another beer? Run and get it from the bar. Boxes? You guessed it, another trip to the front. I recommend making a checklist before sitting after placing your order. I usually carry out so maybe this is common but it was certainly not the pleasant family outing I anticipated. Aside from being permitted to sit and having our food delivered to the table, it was all...

I have seen a lot of rave about this place. Like how great they are or how much better they are than Corky's and other places.

Let me say that I LOVE barbecue. I was eager to try this place. When we got in we had to order and then seat ourselves, which was fine with me. The cashier was not very helpful and not too pleasant.

I was excited to bite into the food! Its spring and I was ready for this barbecue food that looked delicious. First, I tried the coleslaw. I only ate a quarter of it because the mayonnaise was over-powering the taste. Strike one. Second, omg I couldn't wait to fork those barbecue baked beans in my mouth. My tastebuds were confused because there was no barbecue flavor; just tasted like pork and beans out of a can with pulled pork on top. Strike two. My husband ordered a rack of ribs. My mouth was watering for those bad boys. I mean, who could go wrong with ribs. Obviously, Central BBQ did. They were on the spicy side, the bbq was spicy on top of that, but the ribs were fairly juicy. Strike three. I was still optimistic with the pulled pork sandwich. I took my fork and tasted the meat in the sandwich. There was no flavor. Strike four. I mean you know how some pulled pork tastes so good that I pick it out my sandwich and before I know it I need more meat to eat my sandwich. Not theirs. The only menu item they got right was the sweet tea. Perfect.

I am sad to say that my husband and I agree that we will not go back to that place. We will stick with Corky's, Germantown Commissary, heck even Applebees tasted better. We were very...

As a local who grew up during Central’s ascent, I am sad to share it is no longer in the upper echelon of Memphis bbq restaurants. It just ain’t what it used to be. I’ve decided after recent visits that the owners are too focused on expanding the business, and quality control has slipped precipitously. This latest visit to the Summer Ave. location featured unfriendly service, a filthy restaurant, and lackluster food. You’re first met by the dank, moldy smell upon entering and incredibly unfriendly service at the order counter. Changes to the space include opening the front dining area up to create a loud, crowded cafeteria feel with food runners now yelling out numbers throughout the cacophonous space. What happened to the numbers you quietly place at the table? Collapsing ceiling tiles, carpets matted with food, cobwebs and dust on everything. My bbq nachos, historically the main attraction, had cold meat and hopelessly stale chips. They get credit for portion sizes remaining large, and perhaps on a better day the food would be up to par, but it’s no longer worth the gamble for me. Central became so popular because it was a more modern take on the traditional Memphis bbq experience, but also (and perhaps more importantly) it was consistent. Not anymore. Visitors be warned: seek...